The Need of Clear Roles of Authority
Genesis 1:16
"And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also."
From the beginning of the world, God established the importance of authority. It is interesting that even creation has authority. When you look at the verse above, you will see that God made a greater and lesser light. In other words, one was the higher authority. In every area of life there must be clear roles of authority if we want to have peace. One of the main reasons there is strife in the workplace, home, church and society is because the roles of authority are not clearly defined. Let me give you some thoughts about establishing clear roles of authority.
First, always define what is the greater authority. Notice that God made it clear that the sun was a greater authority than the moon, and the moon was a greater authority than the stars. I often have pastors ask me how to stop the squabbling on their staff, and I always tell them that they need to define the roles of authority and which authority is greater. In the home, if parents leave a child in charge when they are gone, then they must make it clear to the other children. In every workplace it must be clearly defined who are the authorities and which authority is greater.
It is interesting that creation has clear roles of authority. Let me illustrate. A while back I sent my dog to get trained. We own a very powerful dog, and I knew that we needed to have him trained so that we could control him. When we picked him up from training, the trainer had a four hour orientation to give us the history of dogs and to show us the commands that we are to use with our dog. During the orientation he explained to us that dogs run in packs, and in each pack there are four levels of authority that dogs establish with each other. This is to keep them from fighting with each other in their pack. Now if dogs can clearly define the greater authority, then it would seem that we need to be careful to clearly define the greater authority in every place.
Second, the lower must always submit to the greater. The moon always submits to the sun. Why? Because the sun is the greater authority. You never see the moon come out and the sun stop shining. No, creation understands that the lesser must always give way to the greater. Likewise, once the roles of authority are defined, then the lesser must always submit to the greater. For instance, the greatest authority is always God. Underneath God there are still different levels of authority. The pastor is the authority of the church. However, when the pastor disobeys God, then the church member must submit to the greater authority which is God. You must always remember that it is the responsibility of the lower to submit to the greater.
Finally, if you want peace in your life, then the roles of authority must be followed. When a home follows the roles of authority, then you will find a peaceful home. When a church follows the roles of authority, then you will find a church that is filled with peace. When a workplace follows the roles of authority, then you will find peace in the workplace. Peace will only be achieved when the roles of authority are followed. Every person is a lesser authority in some area of their life. Wherever you find yourself as the lesser authority, be sure to follow the greater authority so that peace can be achieved.